A Basic Understanding
by Freohr Weohnata Kausta
Summary: With a good amount of species in the known universe, it was no surprise that one would stumble upon someone who didn't speak the same language as you- but what is even more surprising is that the person you meet, doesn't even speak Galactic Basic! [SI/OC that gets dropped into the SW Galaxy where English and Basic don't mix]
1. A Basic Meeting

Rey was a scavenger, she knew that, and sometimes she didn't find anything of worth noting. Of course, she isn't the only scavenger, but she's the only scavenger that would dare to visit the crashed Imperial Star Destroyer. Well, at least go deep into the hulls.

So it was quite the surprise to hear something's voice echoing throughout the ship. Another downcast to that was she couldn't make heads or tails out of it. It was definitely in a different language.

Rey prided herself on her vast (fairly limited) knowledge of languages, and she could pick them up fairly easily, but this was a language she couldn't identify. So, she decided, it was time to reveal herself. "Hello?" She called out in Galactic Basic.

The singing stopped- at least she thought it was singing- and was replaced by laughter. By this time, Rey was quite confused. The voice said something in its language, and she could hear quickening footsteps echoing throughout the ship. The voice started singing again, and by the second syllable of the first word- at least she thinks it was the first word- a door was blasted open, and the voice's singing continued, then stopped abruptly when the figure noticed her.

It chirped out something happily, then started running down towards her. Instinctively, Rey took a step back and held a hand to her staff, ready to attack if need be. The figure noticed this, and quickly put up their hands in the universal sign of 'no harm'. Still not trusting them, she relaxed her stance minutely, and slowly put down her hand.

The figure said something else, something chirpy, then they slowly started to lift their hands to their head. Reaching it, they pressed something on the base and a pressurized hiss escaped from the helmet. Slowly, the lifted up the helmet, revealing shoulder-length brown hair and a face she would call 'well cared for' and, just roughly, handsome. The man's- for that was what the figure was- had a small goatee and moustache that she could tell was taken good care of. His mouth was set into a grin that spread across his face that spoke of mischief, but his eyes were the real showstopper. They were brown and hid a wealth of knowledge, but had a glint of insanity in them; both were unfocused, staring at a spot right behind Rey.

Resisting the urge to look at where the eyes were looking at, she asked, "What's your name?"

Blinking, the man's eyes focused onto her- she barely suppressed a flinch at the raw _power_ in them- and shrugged.

Rey blinked in confusion, then frowned, "You mean, you don't know your name?"

He shrugged again, then spoke again.

It was then, she realized, that he couldn't understand Basic. This was going to be a lot harder than it appeared.

* * *

"Let it go, let it go! Can't hold it back anymore! Let it go! Let it Goooo! Turn away and slam the door; I don't care, what they're going to say- let the storm rage oooooon!" he sang, "The cold never bothered me anyway."

Taking in a deep breath for the next verse, he suddenly heard a faint voice crying out. Pausing, he looked towards the direction it came from, then laughed. He laughed as he started running down towards it. It had been so _long_ since he'd had contact with another being, he'd think he'd be going insane already!

Stopping the laughter so he could focus on running, he located the source of the voice; a human. A human female, to be exact. Chuckling under his breath, he took in another deep breath and sang out, "SomeBODY ONCE TOLD ME, THE WORLD WAS GONNA ROLL ME!" as he smashed through the broken door.

Stopping the singing to look at the startled female, he grinned. "Hello there!" he chirped out, then started down towards the female. Noticing her stepping back and reaching for her weapon, he slowed down and held up his hands in the universal sign of 'no harm' or was it attack? He couldn't remember, but was pretty sure it was 'no harm'.

She slowly relaxed her stance put her hand down. Still grinning, he chirped out, "Great! I could've killed you easily, but it's always good to be on your guard. Anyway, I'm gonna take off my helmet- don't try to kill me, okay? Great!"

He reached up and pressed the release buttons on the bottom, and after waiting until the pressure was released, he took it off. He watched her eyes scan over his face, picking up detail- he made extra sure to keep his eyes unfocused.

She said something. He blinked and looked at her, then shrugged. She said another thing, this time frowning. He shrugged again. He was pretty sure that she was asking for his name. "Freohr," he said, giving her one of his many, many aliases.

Frowning, she looked at him confusedly saying something else. He repeated the name, pointing at himself this time. "Freohr," she repeated slowly. He nodded encouragingly. She spoke again, "Rey," and pointed at herself.

"Rey," he repeated. She nodded. Snapping his left hand into a thumbs-up, which made a dull 'clunk' sound, he asked, "So, what now, Rey?"

* * *

Rey frowned. She was sure he had asked a question by the tone of his voice, but couldn't tell what he had asked. A snap-hiss broke her out of her thoughts- the man, Freohr, put his helmet back on. He motioned with his hand for her to lead. Deciding on a course of action, Rey turned and made a following motion to Freohr to follow her.

Not looking back to see if he followed, she made her way to her speeder- it was red in a blocky shape with boosters on the back. One side had a net for her to store objects she found while out scavenging in. Shoving some parts in the net, along with her staff, she looked at the following Freohr, who was looking at the speeder.

Looking away from his inspection, he said something, chuckling under his breath. Rey raised an eyebrow expectantly at him, her arms crossed. Freohr looked at her, pointed his hand at himself, then at the speeder's seat, then tilted his head. Getting the gist of the message, Rey nodded. Freohr shook his head, then motioned to the engine. Rey looked at him confusedly, wondering what he meant.

He held up a finger, then moved to the engine and wrapped. . .something around it. Moving back like he was attached to something, he motioned for her to get on. Doing so hesitantly, she looked at him again- and he motioned for her to start it. She started it up and heard laughter, looking behind her, she saw Freohr in the flame, laughing. Slowly, he moved away from the thrust nozzles and motioned for her to go.

Looking away from the madman, Rey sped forward. While she was driving, she let her mind wander; why did Freohr live all the way out here- for that matter, did he even have a home? She had just found him- or he found her- wandering around the abandoned ships. Was he a scavenger like her, but instead of coming back to The Blobfish, he just stayed out amongst the ships?

Shaking her head, Rey put those thoughts away and focused back on the landscape- and the laughter. It took a great force of will not to look behind her at her trailing passenger. Wait, did it count as a passenger if they were tied to the back of the speeder? She didn't think it was, but it was a thought for later. Specifically when she's not being bothered by a man wearing black in a desert.

Seriously, who would _do _that? It's just asking to be cooked alive! Shaking her head, she noticed the little settlement of Niima Outpost. Entering in, she slowed down and stopped, subsequently flinging Freohr out from behind the speeder. He bounced a few times off the sand, then came to a sliding stop on his back.

Chuckles emerged from the helmet, which became full blown out laughter after a few seconds. Calming down a little, he pulled himself up, hands resting behind him holding him up. He yelled out something in his language, sounding excited. Rey briefly thought about asking him what he said, but decided against it, only shaking her head and grabbing the scavenged parts- and her staff- and headed towards Unkar Plutt's shack.

The man shouted something, then scrambled up to catch up to her. Matching her pace, they walked in silence towards Plutt's shack.

* * *

He set his helmet back on his head with a snap-hiss of pressurized air, drawing Rey's attention. Freohr waved his hand forward, letting her know that he was ready. Nodding decisively- he doubted she even knew she nodded- she turned around and motioned with two finger for him to follow. Watching her walking away amusedly, he shrugged and followed- it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

It took a few minutes, but they made their way towards a red speeder in a blocky shape. Seeing it, a thought came unbidden to his mind- it looks like bricks really can fly. Biting his lip to suppress his laughter, only a few chuckles came out. "It looks like bricks really can fly, huh, Rey?" Looking up, he saw said female with her arms crossed looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

Wait, wait, wait; Freohr pointed at the seat, then at himself, wondering if she wanted him to drive it. She nodded. Freohr shook his head- he was NOT going to drive that brick! He hadn't even gotten his driver's license yet! If he was going to ride something, he'd do it the fun way- he pointed at the engine block.

Rey's face scrunched up in confusion; Freohr grinned underneath his helmet. Holding up a finger in the 'wait' sign, he walked over to the engine and wrapped a string of energy around it and held it walking back. He the motioned for Rey to get on and start it. She got on it and looked back at him, concern etched on her face. Freohr waved again and fire. Fire was everywhere. He started laughing absurdly; he forgot to move out of the way of the ports! He noticed Rey getting whiplash as she turned around to see him in the flames. Slowly, he made his way out of the flames and motioned for Rey to go.

She turned around, doubtful, but started to speed up. If it weren't for his armor, his neck would've snapped easily with how fast it accelerated. It was like going from zero to fifty mph in seconds! Letting out a scream of excitement, he bounced across the landscape like an oversized ragdoll. Finally getting enough control to right himself, he slid across the sand dunes like a surfer would on water.

Tilting his body to the left, he launched himself off a sand dune and into the air; doing a few flips, screaming out: "Perfect! Great!" Landing on his feet, he tilted to the right, now laughing. Launching himself off another dune, he screamed out: "Amazing!" but then lost his balance in the air and face-planted into the sand, still being dragged across the desert. Laughing, he called out, "Fail!"

Righting himself again, he continued launching himself off the dunes until the landscape flattened out and there were no more, or very few, dunes to launch off of. Sliding around on his feet by that point, Freohr noticed that they were approaching a settlement. He called to Rey to ask what settlement they were approaching, but his voice was caught by the wind- and he belatedly realized that he and Rey couldn't understand each other.

As they neared, he was sliding to the right and- unfortunately- his foot caught against a rock, making him lose his balance and fly forward as Rey slowed down. He rolled and flipped a few times on the ground, but finally slowed down and stopped, sliding on his back. He laid there for a few seconds, then, unbidden, he started laughing. It started a few chuckles, but evolved into full-blown laughter.

He couldn't calm himself down for a bit, but when he finally did, he pulled himself onto his back and looked at Rey and exclaimed, "That was fun! Let's do that again!" Rey hesitated, as if the say something, but shook her head and climbed down- grabbing her staff on the way down. She turned away from Freohr and started walking towards a shantytown looking area. Except it had coverings providing shade form the sun.

"Hey, wait up!" Freohr called, scrambling up from his position on the ground to catch up with Rey. He caught up with her and walked with her in silence, matching her pace- which was slightly slower than his usual one.

* * *

They approached the Concession Stand- Unkar Plutt's shack- and waited in a small line before approaching the Blobfish. Unlatching her satchel, she dug out her find from earlier- before she met Freohr- and set it on the counter. Unkar looked at it, then said, "Quarter portion." And slammed down a quarter portion of salvaged Imperial rations.

"Wha- it's worth more than that! It's in working condition!" Rey argued, motioning at her salvage.

"Quarter portion," Unkar insisted, not budging.

A voice piped up beside her- sounding curious. Rey suppressed a sigh as Unkar asked, "Who's this?"

"I dunno. I found him while salvaging- he doesn't speak Basic."

"Don't spoke Bassiik," Freohr piped up, butchering the pronunciation, making Rey cringe.

Unkar looked Freohr up and down, then slid Rey's quarter portion to the side and slammed down several packs of portions, "Thirty portions for armor."

"He can't understand you," Rey insisted.

Ignoring her, Unkar pointed at Freohr's body armor and said, "Armor." Then pointed at the portions, "Thirty portions."

Freohr, getting the meaning, pointed at his armor, "Armer. Thrnty protions."

Unkar nodded, "Yes."

Freohr tilted his head and looked like he was considering it, then shook it. Unkar's eyebrows rose, "No?"

"No," Freohr repeated.

Unkar harrumphed, then turned away, sliding the portions back into his stand. Rey, thankful that that was over, grabbed her quarter portion and walked away, hoping that Freohr would follow. A glance to her left, then her right revealed that he did, thankfully. She started to lead him to her home, but he spoke up, "Rey." And pointed at her speeder.

Thinking though the words he repeated, she said, "No worries."

"No, worris," he repeated.

"Worries," She corrected.

"Worries," he repeated, pronouncing it correctly.

Rey nodded, "No worries."

He nodded, "No worries."

At least they were getting somewhere with the language barrier, even if it was fairly limited. Turning back around, she led Freohr out of the town and towards her home- an abandoned AT-AT. As the approached it, Freohr spoke, "AT-AT?" Rey's head snapped around, looking at Freohr incredulously- He knew what it was? "AT-AT," he spoke again, then said some other words- probably its full title.

". . .Yes," Rey said slowly.

"Yus?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes, AT-AT."

"Yes, no, AT-AT, worris?" He looked at Rey for confirmation.

"Worries."

He nodded, "Worries. Yes, no, AT-AT, worries, armer?"

"Armor."

"Armor. Yes, no, AT-AT, worries, armor, Thrnty?"

"Thirty."

"Thirty. Yes, no, AT-AT, worries, armor, thirty, portiuns."

"Portions."

"Portions. Yes, no, AT-AT, worries, armor, thirty, portions." Freohr listed. It was almost like Freohr was radiating smugness.

Shaking her head, Rey motioned for Freohr to follow her in, saying, "AT-AT home."

"AT-AT home," Freohr repeated.

"Yes," Rey told him, strangely proud of his correct pronunciation.

"Yes!" he exclaimed excitedly, throwing his hands in the air.

Rolling her eyes at his antics, she moved over to the bottom of the AT-AT and opened the hidden hatch and motioned Freohr in. Entering in, she heard him making some appreciative noises. He said a word, motioning to the room. Rey looked at him confusedly. He repeated it again, motioning again. "Oh! Big," she caught his meaning.

He nodded, "Big! Yes!"

"Good job. I'm going to make some food from the portion, okay?"

"Portion. . . Portion? Portion!" he exclaimed, then reached into his belt and pulled out- several more portions!? "Portions," he stated smugly.

"Wha- how? How did you get it? Did you steal it?" she asked, momentarily forgetting about the language barrier.

"Portions." A few words of his own language, "Yes?"

"I- ugh. Fine. Yes. Bad, no. Steal no. Portions yes," She said.

"Eh, steel potions?" he asked.

"Steal. And no, no steal; Portions good. Yes."

"Portions, gud. Steal portions," he paused, "bed."

"Good. Bad. Portions good, steal portions bad. Bed is this," She tapped her cot- bed was just too generous for that thing.

"Ah," he said, then held out the portions to her, "Portions, uh, fuud."

"Food. Okay, I'll make some."

He nodded, "Food good." He paused, then pointed at himself and said something in his language, then pointed towards a door on the side of the wall.

Rey's eyebrows creased, trying to get his meaning- "Oh! Explore. You explore, yes?"

"Explore, yes!" He paused, then waved his hand.

"Bye," Rey told him.

"Bye!" he repeated then vanished through the door.

* * *

He would cackle if he could, but he was in someone else's home. He thinks. He wasn't too sure with the translation. His Galactic Basic is fairly limited, at least the spoken, and he was now going to try the best way to do it: Writing down the alphabet.

Hefting a small rock, he slid the rock diagonally against the side of the hull, creating a small silver gash. Repeating it but in the opposite direction, he marked a small line connecting them in the middle. "A," he spoke, then started on 'B.'

It took him several minutes to write them all out, but it was complete: a full wall covered in the English alphabet- he actually wrote the word 'alphabet' in Greek, it being Alpha Beta. Rey climbed through the door with two bowls in her hands- then paused, staring at the wall. "Uh, Freohr?" she asked.

"Alphabet," he said, smug. Rey looked at him confusedly. Deciding to combine two words of Basic, he said, in Galactic Basic, "Woruds."

She corrected him, speaking a different word. He nodded, repeating it, then paused. "Eh, No-big," he said in Basic.

Rey said a word in Basic- probably the opposite of big, and Freohr repeated it. "Small words," he strung the new words together.

Rey said a new word in Basic. Freohr repeated it, "Letters," then switched to English, pointing at the first letter, "A." he moved over and picked up the rock he used earlier and drew what he thought was the first letter of the Galactic Basic alphabet- a cup-like figure that repeated itself upside down.

Rey set the bowls down, then took the outstretched rock from Freohr's hands, then corrected the writing of 'A' in Galactic Basic. Freohr nodded and took the rock back from Rey and copied the Basic 'A' above the English 'A'. He pointed at the Basic 'A', "Basic," then at the English 'A', "English." He looked at the bowls Rey brought in, "Eh, food, nowo?" he asked in Basic.

"Now," Rey corrected, "Food now."

"Yes!" Freohr cheered, then grabbed a bowl of the full Imperial ration and followed Rey, who had her own bowl, outside.


	2. Basic Encounters

Rey and Freohr sat next to each other, eating and watched a starship fly into the sky, before blasting off at Lightspeed- away from the setting sun. Freohr had his helmet off and was already done with his ration, and Rey had just finished hers before she heard a nearby sound. Raising her head to look at the direction it came from, she took off the old Rebellion helmet and grabbed her staff and rushed onto the AT-AT to get a higher vantage point to see what it was.

Freohr blinked and looked at her, then grabbed his helmet and jumped up to her, shoving the helmet on, and landed next to her, looking in the same direction of her gaze. He noticed a strange creature of metal and something on it that was struggling with a net. Glancing at Rey, he followed her as she ran down towards them.

When he arrived, Rey was already talking to the being astride the metal creature and cutting the net open. The being said something back and Rey freed the thing trapped in the net and said something to the being, pointing to her right. The being said something, but started to move away anyways.

The thing that Rey freed started beeping, but she shushed it saying something in Basic. When the being and creature of metal were out of sight, Rey stooped down and said something in Basic to the spherical droid. She took off its antenna and started unbending it. After a pause, she asked something and the droid responded with beeps. She put the antenna back on the droid and said something sarcastically- Freohr could tell by the tone of voice used. The droid chirped, and Rey responded with something containing "Big," in it.

"Big!" Freohr chimed in.

Rey and the droid looked at him, then the droid started chirping excitedly, moving back and forth. Rey's head snapped towards it, said something and "No!" then something else, then "Stormtrooper!"

"Yes! No Stormtrooper!" Freohr said.

Rey said something similar to 'no', probably correcting him. The droid beeped again. Rey said something back to it, then paused looking at Freohr. Pointing at her head she said, "No," and something else.

Freohr tilted his head. Rey made a motion of taking something of her head. Freohr nodded in realization, then took off his helmet and held it under one arm while he smiled at the droid. Rey motioned at him, saying something, "Not Stormtrooper!"

The droid made a whistling sound, its head tilting on its spherical body. Freohr thought of how to say it in Basic- "Eh, Not-Stole armor."

Rey corrected him, and he repeated the word, "Salvaged armor. No steal. No Stormtrooper."

The droid beeped understandingly. Rey said "Good," then a few more words. She pointed towards the outpost, "Niima Outpost," a few words, another direction, some more words. She picked up her staff and stood up, saying something else to the droid.

Rey started walking away- Freohr following her, after putting on his helmet- but turned around as the droid beeped. She said something and pointed towards the outpost. The droid, somehow, sighed and beeped questioningly- "No!" Rey said in reply, still walking away. The droid beeped sadly, and Rey stopped and turned around to look at it.

Sighing, she nodded her head to follow them. It chirped happily and started rolling forward. Rey turned back around and started walking, Freohr and the droid walking (or rolling) after her. She said something else to the droid. It beeped back, and she said another thing in reply.

* * *

If Rey was being honest, the droid, a BB series, was actually cute. Well, more endearing than cute, but it grew on you. That said, when she turned around and saw a nightwatcher worm right behind them, its eyes poking out of the sand. "Wait- don't move!" She called out to both the BB unit and Freohr. "That's a nightwatcher worm; it feeds on junk," She explained, watching it carefully.

Its eyes dropped into the sand- "Now we run!" she yelled, turning around. She ran, the BB unit right behind her and Freohr- just standing there?! "Freohr! Run!" she yelled at him. He yelled something back in his own language, but still stood there. "Ugh- it probably hasn't eaten anything today," She explained to the BB unit, "We need to find something else to feed it."

The BB unit stopped, beeping. Rey turned to the BB unit to say something, but it had stopped- and the worm burst out of the ground and roared. Rey readied her staff to shove it in its mouth, but Freohr was suddenly in front of her. He pushed her out of the way and pulled out a pistol from the holster on his thigh- how had she not noticed that before?!- and shot the creature. The worm cried out in pain, and Freohr holstered the pistol- probably wanting to conserve ammo- and raised his arms in an 'x' formation.

The Nightwatcher Worm was mad now, it bucked and slammed into Freohr, but he didn't budge. If Rey looked closely, she could see a faint barrier where the Worm was touching air. Rey started to ask "What," but Freohr yelled, "Run!" in Basic. Scrambling up from her position on the ground, she grabbed her staff and ran. Looking behind her, she yelled at Freohr, "Home, go to AT-AT!"

"Good!" He yelled back, then released the shield and kicked it, knocking its body to the side. Rey turned around to watch were she was going, trying to make her way to her home. Behind her, she could hear roars and crashes, but she didn't dare turn to look. "We're almost there, BB, just a little bit more," She yelled to the droid, who beeped in response.

She crested a sand dune and saw her AT-AT just across the sand. Sliding down, she started running as she reached the bottom. Stopping by the leg, she grabbed the BB unit and ran up the leg and onto the side of the AT-AT. Turning around she saw Freohr running with the nightwacher worm right behind him. "Freohr!" She yelled, getting his attention, "Up here!"

He looked up and yelled something in his own language, then jumped. He flew through the air, arms and legs waving, and landed in a roll on the side of the AT-AT. Getting up from his crouched position, he started stretching, muttering things in his own language. Looking away from him, Rey picked up a piece of scrap on the top of the AT-AT and looked at the dejected nightwatcher worm, "Hey, I know you're hungry, so here," She said, then threw the scrap at it.

The worm caught it in its mouth, let out a whine, then turned around diving into the sand. Turning around, she saw Freohr still stretching and the BB unit watching him- apparently they were talking. Somehow. Looking up as she approached, Freohr looked at her, then at the BB unit, then back at her, "Translator, uh, Binary, uh, BB-8 help," he said.

Her eyebrows raised, "You have a translator in there?"

"Eh, no. BB-8 Binary, translate words," he said.

She frowned, "So, binary translates to Aurebesh in your helmet?"

"Eh, yes!"

"That certainly makes it easier, doesn't it?"

"Yes!"

"C'mon then, let's get started," Rey said, then hopped off the side of the AT-AT and climbed into the main body, heading to her room. When he didn't immediately enter in after her, she began to worry, but he soon entered, two bowls in hand and a helmet in the other- "Food! Eh, Bowls! Helmet!" he said.

She sighed in relief, "Thanks, Freohr."

"Welcome!"

Taking the bowls from him, she set them aside as he put the helmet down on a table nearby. "C'mon, let's get your Galactic Basic to where you don't have to rely on BB-8 for everything."

"Yes! Good!" he exclaimed, then navigated his way to where he had scratched in the letter of his Aurebesh, or 'Alphabet.'

* * *

He woke up stiffly. This was normal, so he knew what to do to get the stiffness out: Stretch, run, fight. Things like that. He usually ran. He'd been doing it for a while now. The stiffness in the mornings usually came after days that included strenuous activity. And, oh boy, was yesterday strenuous.

First, waking up in the morning, stiff as usual, donning his armor, then heading out to explore the full expanse of the star destroyer he found himself in. Then finding Rey, then the entire debacle of finding out they couldn't understand each other. Thirdly, the entire ride to Niima Outpost- he thought that was the name at least- and the subsequent meeting with the weird fish-like thing. Fourth, the arrival at Rey's home then writing down the alphabet on the wall in a different room that wasn't covered in marks.

Finally, meeting BB-8- the sassy droid- and then trying to fight off a nightwatcher worm, as he learned their name was. That was fun. Note the sarcasm. Of course, he'd fought off several of them before- they were trying to eat him, okay!- but he usually just killed them so they'd never bother him again. Easier that way. (Plus, their meat, after being cooked, was pretty good.)

That said, it really was no surprise that he was stiff that morning, even though he had stretched. He would go on more, but an incessant beeping intruded into his thoughts. His hand lashed out to the right- where he knew the sound was coming from- and just barely missed the droid that was annoying him. A few words in Basic appeared above on his screen, "Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake- ahhhh!"

The droid beeped some more, "What was that for?! I was waking you up!"

Freohr gave BB-8 a flat look, "You were bothering me."

"Was not!"

"You were," he stated flatly, then sat up. "Anyway, I'm up now. Tell Rey that I'm up?"

"She already knows," BB-8 beeped, "She sent me to wake you up."

"Ugh, early risers. Always ready to start the day at an early time."

"Well, what time do you usually wake up?"

Freohr raised his arm at a 110-degree angle, "Eh, the sun's about here when I wake up."

"Around ten, then."

"Yeah, used to wake up earlier, but that's only when I have a nice bed." Getting off the floor, he had finished the floor stretches, he started his standing stretches. "Okay, tell Rey that I'm up- I won't be long."

"You got it!" BB-8 beeped, then rolled out of the room from the hole that he'd made last night.

That was another thing- BB-8 could understand him. It was strange, he pondered, most other being couldn't speak English that he had encountered, but granted, those creatures didn't have the same sentience as some of the other beings across the universe. He'd have to do more research.

Finishing up his stretches, he vaulted over the door and landed in Rey's room. Walking over to where she was making a few preparations, he said, "I ready," in Galactic Basic.

"Good," she replied, "I'll finished up here, then we'll head out." Some words were translated by BB-8 for him, as he hadn't grasped the nuances of the language yet.

It didn't take long for her to finish, but soon, Rey was strapping BB-8 to the side of her speeder- How did that get here!?- and him stringing a wire of energy to the left fin on the booster things. "Ready," he spoke, taking a few steps back and to the side.

"Ready," Rey said, BB-8 beeped out an affirmative. Starting up the bike, Rey paused. Looking up, she brought up a pair of binoculars to her face looking to her right, "Teedo," She said, answering BB-8's question, "he's come back, but I won't let him get you."

Freohr looked to his left, hearing footsteps. "Rey!" He shouted, then pushed the would-be attacker away. There was a second attacker behind the first and they pulled out their blaster and started firing, "Go!" Freohr shouted, "I'll hold them off!"

BB-8 translated his message and Rey started moving, Freohr being pulled along for the ride. Behind them, the two attackers and Teedo boarded their speeders and raced after them. It was now a speeder chase, Rey with a droid on the side of the speeder and Freohr versus Teedo and his two goons.

They were in the lead for now, but not for long- Teedo sent his goons forwards as they crossed a piece of scrap embedded in the ground. Freohr relayed an idea to BB-8, who relayed it to Rey, who agreed it was a good idea. Loosening the energy wire, he fell behind Rey's speeder and was soon even with the goon that had the blaster.

They pointed the pistol at him, but Freohr quickly pulled out his own and shot the goon in the arm, making them twitch in alarm. Moving quickly, he grabbed the handle and started shoving the goon off the bike. They resisted, but fell off as Freohr shot them in key areas- namely the chest and head. Now in full control of the bike, he increased its speed and came even with Rey.

Cutting the connection of the energy wire, he looked at Rey and nodded; she nodded back and as soon as they crossed the end of the scrap, the other goon appeared, thinking that Freohr's bike was still in control of its comrade. Rey quickly bucked her speeder and Freohr took a potshot at the other's speeder, and hit the engine. Their speeder quickly spiraled out of control and crashed into the sand.

They were now speeding over open sand towards a fallen Star Destroyer, when BB-8 proposed its idea, "Yes, Yes! That could work! We could use the nightwatcher worm! Freohr, follow me!" Rey said, and said man followed her.

They entered into an engine port and Freohr finally realized that this was a bad idea. Rey gasped and tilted her speeder to the side, sending fragments of metal everywhere; Freohr shielded himself, but Teedo wasn't so lucky as he got hit by several shards. Rey finally straightened up and stopped up on a ruined fragment of the ship that was protruding out of the ground. Freohr slowed his down, spinning it around so he could see the incoming events easier.

Rey jumped off hers and landed on the sand, staff held in her hands. Teedo came out of the corridor and stopped his bike and stood on top of it, pulling out a blaster. He laughed, saying some things in his language. Rey replied, "If you want the droid, you'll have to go through us."

He laughed and pointed his blaster at her. Just then, the Nightwatcher Worm burst out of the ground and landed, taking the majority of the speeder out and throwing a now-terrified Teedo out. He screamed a few things in his own language, then started running off. The worm sat there munching on its food as Rey hopped back onto her speeder, answering BB-8's question, "Teedo will be fine. He'll just need a new bike."

She turned her speeder and sped off, with Freohr following her, shouting out a "Thank you, Enjoy your dinner!" to the worm.

They made good time getting to Niima Outpost, only taking about an hour getting there. Rey and BB-8 had talked as they drove, Freohr scouting the area for enemies. When they arrived, Freohr heard BB-8 beeping worryingly. They stopped and Rey let BB-8 down before answering, "Don't, up hope, he might up," in Basic- BB-8 wasn't translating it for him, right now, so he had to work of the known words. "it is you're waiting for. I know all waiting."

BB-8 beeped out a question. Rey replied, "For my," he didn't recognize the last word, "They'll be back. One day."

Freohr approached, making his presence known, "Ready. Ehh, Portion Trade?"

"Yes. Come on. BB-8, could you translate for him?" She asked, then looked back at Freohr, "If he knows your language, then there must be _someone_ out there who knows it."

He nodded, "Yes. Go now, trade metals."

"Scraps, Freohr."

"Scraps, metals. No difference."

BB-8 piped up, "There's a lot of difference, when you're ta-"

"No difference," Freohr interrupted.

BB-8 let out a beeping huff, "Fine, be that way."

"I will." And that was the end of that.

They made their way in silence to Unkar Plutt's, as Freohr learned his name was, concession stand. They waited in line for a while underneath the shaded area. When they finally got to the front of the line, Rey set the five salvaged pieces on the table. Unkar picked them up and studied them, when he got to the last one, he said, translated by BB-8, "These five pieces are, let me see here. . . hmm. . . One half portion."

"Last week they were a half a portion each," Rey said.

"What about the droid?" Unkar asked, ignoring her.

Caught off-guard, Rey asked, "What about him?"

"I'll pay for him," Unkar rumbled and started setting down portions on the counter.

"That's a lot," BB-8 commented, "I'm flattered."

Freohr snorted inside his helmet, trying to remain silent.

"Sixty portions," Unkar said, looking back at Rey. _Huh, that's a _lot_ more than he offered for my armor,_ Freohr thought.

Rey moved forward without thinking, grabbing the portions, then came to her senses. Looking down at BB-8 and Freohr beside him, she let her arms fall to her sides, "Actually, he's not for sale," She said.

"Of course, I'm too amazing to be sold," BB-8 boasted.

"I highly doubt that, I could sell you for a good credit," Freohr murmured, making sure that BB-8 could hear him.

BB-8's head swiveled up to look at him, "You wouldn't do that, would you?!"

"I might, you never know."

"Man, you're mean," BB-8 moaned sadly.

Rey took the half portion and started moving away, uttering a curt, "Come on," to the two of them.

Following her, they made their way to the merchant district where they were started looking around at the different items, Rey telling him their names. As they browsed, Freohr commented, "We're being followed." BB-8 translated it for him.

Rey asked, "We're being followed?"

"Yes, act natural," Freohr said, using the newly learned words.

"What do you mean by that?"

"By this."

"By what?" Rey asked again.

The thugs approached them and threw a cover over BB-8, who started beeping wildly. "Like this," Freohr replied and rammed his palm into the thug's covered face, stunning him.

Sweeping the thug's legs from underneath them, he slammed his foot on their chest- knocking out their air, if not near-killing them. He looked over to Rey, who was still dealing with her thug, "Help?" Freohr offered, then heard a shout. Looking over he saw a dark-skinned man in a brown jacket running over to them, who had skidded to a stop next to a pole under the shade.

"No, got him!" Rey grunted, finally knocking out the thug.

"Okay." Freohr shrugged, then kicked the thug under his foot unconscious.

"What? What's going on? Can you give me a play-by-play?" BB-8 was asking.

"It's solved," Freohr answered, "They are out cold."

"Oh, already? Who were they?"

"Thugs," Rey answered this time, "sent by Unkar. The guy that wanted you."

"Ah, the fishy guy," BB-8 responded.

Freohr let out a snorting laugh, "That was bad."

"He must've really wanted you," Rey commented, more to herself than anyone else.

Looking over to his right, BB-8 let out an unintelligible shriek of alarm. Looking up, Freohr saw the same man who shouted earlier. He waved at him, as BB-8 answered Rey's question. The man glanced back uncertainly as Rey got up and started charging him. Freohr tilted his head to look at BB-8, "That was really uncalled for, you know."

BB-8 beeped back a reply.

Freohr shrugged, "Fair enough. Now come on, we gotta find Rey again."

BB-8 rolled angrily, a contrast to Freohr's casual stroll to their destination. When they arrived, Rey was standing above the man, staff pointed at him, saying something. If Freohr was a lesser man, he would've said something that was really crude, but he was a man of culture, and as such, he didn't say anything, only thought it. The man replied something back, confused, and BB-8 shocked him. He let out a cry of pain, falling back onto Freohr's boots, and looked up at his helmet. Freohr waved at him, the man twitched then looked at BB-8, asking a pained question.

"This droid says you stole it," Rey said to the man.

"Steal," Freohr supplied unhelpfully.

The man twitched again, then answered Rey's question, and then got shocked by BB-8's tazer again. He yelped at BB-8, pained. Rey asked him again, saying something else with it. The man sighed and dropped a name, "Poe Dameron," with some other words. Freohr didn't catch them all. At the end of it, BB-8 lowered his head, sad. BB-8 started to roll off, telling them to stay there.

Freohr walked around to the front, holding hand out, "Sorry for, uh, no conversation?" he looked at Rey.

"Misunderstanding."

"Ah, Sorry for misunderstanding."

"You can talk?" the man asked.

Freohr nodded, "Not much."

"I thought Death Troopers couldn't."

Freohr blinked. What? He took of his helmet, "I not Death Troopers."

"Wha-? You have their armor."

"Armor scavenged in, eh, gaveyard?"

"Graveyard," Rey corrected.

"Graveyard. Armor scavenged in graveyard. Star Destroyers bad landing here."

"Anyway," Rey steered the conversation back away from that debacle, "you're with the Resistance?"

Freohr stopped listening after that, putting on his helmet, content to stand there. Until a name was dropped, "Luke Skywalker." He blinked, adding his two cents, "Luke good man." Then went back to ignoring them and keeping an eye out for Imperials, or First Order Stormtroopers as they were known here.

BB-8 burst in, on word on his visor, "Stormtroopers!"

Rey, Freohr, and the man followed the droid out into the open, where they could see two troopers talking to a native. The native pointed in their direction, and the troopers started running at them, guns raised. Rey exclaimed something, and was pulled away by the man, who was shouting something. Freohr stood there, and the Stormtroopers let out several shots, only to be reflected by Freohr's shield. The troopers stalled for a second, then started up again, this time away from Freohr and after the two humans and BB-8.

Freohr smiled casually and started strolling towards the fighting. As he was approaching where the three hunted were sequestered in, he heard the faint roaring of fighters. Looking up, he saw several TIE-class Starfighters gunning down on the now-evacuated tent. He casually arrived there, as Rey shook the man awake. He shot up and asked something, Rey replied, then they started moving away, Freohr and BB-8 following them.

They ran under the red arch that held several ships in a giant fence perimeter. Rey shouted something, pointing at a red ship with four engines. The man said something about the ship Freohr was standing by, Rey replied and then a blaster shot the ship. Rey uttered something then started running towards the ship. They ran past him and up the ramp, Freohr and BB-8 following. The two of them ran to different positions in the ship. BB-8 waited in the hallways while Freohr followed Rey into the cockpit. He sat in the co-pilot's chair, which was made for something _way_ bigger than him, and watched as Rey hit random switches around the area.

They lifted off and crashed into several structures, destroying them in the process. Finally, Rey was able to get it stabilized and the blasted off into the sky. The man shouted something, but they couldn't make it out the first time, then he said it again over the comms. She banked the ship and the shot towards the ground, then pulled up, the TIEs on their tail.

They started firing on the ship and one got a lucky shot in, hitting the ship, making it rock. Rey yelled at the man, who yelled back, asking something. She yelled back, reaching over Freohr to reach a button. Freohr traced her hand angle and found the switch, flicked it, and the shields came online. Rey blinked confusedly for a few moments, looking at the switch. Freohr appeared, waving. She twitched, "Freohr! When'd you get here!"

Freohr shrugged, then took control of the co-pilot's controls. She yelled back at the man, who yelled back something, a question, she answered it and that was it. They sped above the sands, the man shooting at the TIEs. They quickly arrived at where the crashed Star Destroyer was, and the man got a good shot in, knocking the TIE out of the air, making it crash. The chase went on a bit more, Freohr and Rey trying to avoid the bits of metal and the man trying to shoot the TIE.

Soon, the TIE got a lucky shot in and hit the blaster, jamming it. The man yelled up at Rey, she yelled back, then murmured softly, "I hope." Freohr let go of the controls, letting Rey have full control. She banked the ship, and shot into an engine part of a crashed Star Destroyer, trying to dodge all of the still-intact bridges in there. Freohr took over a bit, making them dodge a certain piece of ship, then let go as Rey took a sharp turn out of there. They shot into the air and tilted forward. Rey shut off the engines, giving the man a clear shot at the TIE, which he took. The TIE exploded into a shower of metal, and Rey restarted the engine.

They lifted right off, missing the ground by feet, and shot into orbit. Rey relaxed and got out of the chair, at which point the man got out of his and was in the hallways. They let out a hail of compliments, and when they finished, BB-8 let out a, "What."

Freohr got out of the seat and entered the hallways, shrugging, "I dunno, BB, but hey, at least they get along."

"I never got your name," Rey said, BB-8 now translating for Freohr.

The man licked his lips, "Finn. What's yours?"

"Rey," Said woman answered.

"Freohr," said man gave his name without prompting. As if a trance was broken, they looked away from each other and at him. He waved, "Hi."

They stared at him, then flinched when a pipe burst.

* * *

***Laughs in Binary***


	3. Basic Fights

They ran over to the area where the smoke was emanating from the floor, Rey yelled out, "Help me with this, quick."

"Whoa, what is that?" Finn asked, helping Rey lift the grate. She jumped in, looking around. When she found what she was looking for she poker her head up, "It's the motivator. Grab me a Harris wrench, check in there." She pointed at a box nearby.

Finn crawled over, asking, "How bad is it?"

"If we want to live, not good," she answered, looking around in the machine again.

Freohr started ignoring them at that point, bored. He moved back into the cockpit, watching BB-8's comments on the byplay between Rey and Finn. As he sat in the cockpit, he noticed something.

He _looked_ to the right and noticed something- a ship. A big ship. That was slowly converging on them. Then the systems shut off. He blinked. A red light started emanating from the right and he saw giant metal teeth. Rey and Finn burst into the cockpit, talking. He ignored them, instead looking around the new ship. There were several points of interest- namely the three locked up life forces and two free ones. The two who were moving down into the bay.

Finn said something, a conversation between Rey and him, then they moved into the area they were just at, climbing into the pit. Freohr smiled as he faded. Standing up, he waited in the corridor for the two newcomers. Clanging metal echoed from the outside, then the ramp opened up and the two newcomers, a human and a Wookie, entered in. Freohr watched them as they walked around the ship, then stop in the area where Rey and Finn were sequestered, hearing a clanging sound.

The Wookie lifted up the grate, revealing Finn and Rey. They exchanged words, then Rey and Finn climbed out. They exchanged a few more words, Rey answering his questions. He started walking away, saying, "Well, you tell him that Han Solo just stole back the Millennium Falcon; For good."

"This is the Millennium Falcon? You're Han Solo?"

He looked at her, "I used to be."

"This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs?"

"Twelve!" Freohr yelled out, revealing himself- without his helmet, of course- "He made it in twelve parsecs, and it was a close one!" Freohr looked at the stunned Han in front of him, "If you had hesitated one more moment, you wouldn't have made it and the black hole would've sucked you in. You're lucky you're alive."

"How do you know that?" Han asked harshly.

Freohr smiled, lifting up his helmet telekinetically, and winked, "I have my ways."

"Jedi," Han murmured.

Freohr shook his head, "No, but close enough. Anyways, continue, ignore me." Freohr moved out of the way of Han and picked up his helmet, letting Han reunite with his old ship.

Freohr moved into the room with Rey, Finn, BB-8, and Chewbacca, waiting on Han. He came back in talking about the hyperdrive and finishing a sentence with Rey. He stared at her for a second, then said something, pointing at Freohr, Finn, and Rey.

"Wait, no," Rey objected, walking after Han, "We need your help."

"My help?" Han asked.

"This droid has to get to the Resistance base as soon as possible," Rey explained.

"He's carrying a map to Luke Skywalker," Finn added.

"Luke good man," Freohr added, "Han good man."

Han stopped, sighing.

"You are the Han Solo that was part of the rebellion. You knew Luke Skywalker."

"Yeah. I knew Luke," Han admitted, "I knew Luke."

Right then, a clanging echoed throughout the ship. They all looked at the source and rushed outside, Freohr following at a sedate pace. Han flicked through the cameras on a nearby console, "Oh, great, It's the Guavian Death Gang. Must have tracked us from Nantoon."

They started walking to the bridge, where the entrances to the ship were. Rey asked a few questions and the others answered them. Freohr faded as a Rathtar appeared behind Rey and Finn, scaring them from its cage. They exchanged a few more words then dropped down into the ducts.

The airlock opened up, revealing the Death Gang. They exchanged names, then Han asked questions. Bala-Tik responded. Han responded to his comments, then asked a question. Bala-Tik replied to that with another question. Han responded. Bala-Tik said something else, Han responded quickly, the Bala-Tik responded, nodding over to the opening airlock.

Han looked over to the opened airlock. Freohr started ignoring them, it was getting boring. They continued trading words, then Bala-Tik said something, "That BB unit. The First Order is looking for one just like it." He paused. BB-8 hid behind Han's legs, "And three fugitives."

"First I've heard of it," Han replied.

A few seconds passed where the Kandiklub said words to each other and a few men moved out. A few tense seconds passed, then orange-yellow lights turned on and roaring was heard. "I got a bad feeling about this," Han muttered.

"Kill them, and take the droid!" Bala-Tik shouted, pointing his blaster at Han, only for a Rathtar to appear behind them and start attacking.

The area burst into chaos as the Rathtars attacked, one attacking Kandiklub, the other rolling towards Han and Chewbacca. The two of them ran past Freohr, trying to escape the creature. The beast slammed against an unseen wall that appeared in front of Freohr, who was barely a foot from it. He smiled, then pushed the beast away, making it roll a different direction. Looking back at Han and Chewbacca, he offered, "Run?" they agreed and started running.

Making their way past a thug, which Han knocked out, they navigated the corridors towards the Millennium Falcon. As they reached the door to the bay, it closed blocking them off. "I'll get the door, you hold them off," Han ordered.

Chewbacca started shooting at the thugs and hit one, killing him. The other came out of hiding and shot, but it fizzled harmlessly on Freohr's shield. Freohr returned fire and hit him in the head with his pistol, killing him. Freohr shot him again for good measure. Turning around, he shot the control pad, opening up the door. Han blinked, but moved quickly, not questioning it.

They rushed out into the bay, meeting up with Rey and Finn. "Come on, then, let's get this show on the road," Freohr urged, running into the ship.

The rest got up in there with him, along with a shot Wookie. Freohr looked at Chewbacca confusedly, but gave up. Rey and Han moved into the cockpit, along with Freohr, who sat in one of the chairs behind them. They conversed with each other, starting up the ship when a Rathtar attacked the cockpit, trying to bite through it, making Rey yelp.

Han muttered something and they started the hyperspace travel start up. It stalled, Rey pointed something out and Han rolled his eyes and pressed it, launching them into hyperspace- forcing the attacking Rathtar off.

Rey was surprised at how cold space was; granted, she should've expected it, but after the adrenaline and fear had ran out, she was _cold_. She shivered again, trying to ward it off. She had come from a warm planet, Jakku, and never really felt the absence of heat; of course, the nights were cold, but you could always find a trace of heat somewhere- in the ship, you couldn't find a hint of heat.

She looked up a Freohr, who was standing there silently, like a warrior of old, and asked, "How are you not cold?"

He tapped his armor. "No heat in, no cold in. Right warm or cold at time," he answered.

She nodded, then alarms started going off- She moved quickly, trying to find out what was happening. It was the compressor, she noticed. Quickly, she opened the hatch above her and started into the wiring, saying something along with Han.

She quickly found the area she was looking for and started undoing it. When she untangled them all, she pulled it out and held it up- the beeps stopped and a chime played up, the lights going blue again. "What'd you do?" Han asked.

"I bypassed the compressor," she said, a grin on her face.

Han looked at her. "Huh," he said after a moment.

Her grin fell as he moved out of his seat. A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Freohr without his helmet, smiling softly at her. "It okay. Han proud, just not know how to show."

"Proud?"

"Yes and no. Like proud, but not."

"Impressed, you mean."

He nodded, "Yes. Impressed. He only fly with Chewbacca- never with anyone else. It take lot to impressed him."

"Impress."

"Impress him." He nodded thoughtfully. "Come, let us join others."

"Okay," She replied and got out of her seat, following Freohr. For a madman and limited with words, he can be quite thoughtful sometimes.

"So, fugitives, huh?" Han asked as they entered the main room.

"I," Freohr spoke a few words of his own language, "important," another word.

Han raised an eyebrow, "Very important person, huh?" he repeated.

"Yes," Freohr nodded.

"Wait, you can understand him?" Rey asked.

"Yeah, he's just speaking a different version of High Galactic. It's not that hard to understand," Han explained.

Rey gaped, "So, when BB-8 was translating for you, he was translating it to High Galactic?"

Freohr nodded.

"I've spent this entire time trying to understand you, and you just speak a different dialect of the same language?!"

Freohr nodded, shrugging.

Her shoulder's slumped, giving up on him. Shaking her head, she said, "The First Order wants the map to Skywalker. Finn's with the Resistance, I'm just a scavenger. Freohr is, well, I don't know, what are you?"

"Human. I use magic."

"Force. The ability you possess is called the Force. I used to not believe in it, but, well, I met Luke," Han corrected.

"Force, then. I use Force. But I came from not this galaxy."

"Not this galaxy, one of the outer galaxies maybe?"

He shook his head, "No. Memories fuzzy. Woke on Jakku- stayed there for years. Met Rey by chance."

Rey frowned, "How many years?"

"Dunno; hard to tell without seasons. Maybe ten? Maybe five?" he shook his head again.

"Several years ago, on Jakku, there were tales of a fearsome beast that attacked scavengers- were you that beast?"

He smiled, "Ah, learning Force. Hard part is control. Fell to Dark several times; I now keep it under check."

"You were!"

His smile only got wider.

Finn spoke up, "Uh, I'm totally lost here; can we get back to more sensible topics, like, say, the map to Luke Skywalker in the droid here?"

Rey shook her head, "Right, yeah. Sorry, got distracted."

"Alright, let's see what we got," Han said.

"Show," Freohr stated.

BB-8 beeped and rolled forward, then activated his hologram projector. A portion of a map appeared, with an orange line going through it all, pinpointing several worlds. Rey stared, her body moving of its own accord as she moved across the map, looking at each planet. She broke out of her trance when she heard a sharp intake of breath. Looking at Freohr, she saw him staring at a solar system with nine planets.

His hand rose shakily, touching one of the planets- the fourth one from its sun- and muttered, "Home."

"What?"

"Home. Earth. Terra. Sol System," Freohr answered breaking out of his own trance and pointed to each of the planets in turn, "Mercury, Venus, Earth or Terra, Mars. Asteroid belt here, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune? Uranus? I get these two mixed up," he motioned with his finger the two in right before the last. "Pluto- considered dwarf planet, but is actually not in my opinion."

"You want to go home, don't you," Han stated.

Freohr hesitated, then shook his head, "No. Not yet. Defeat First Order, then visit Sol System. See if anything has changed in years passed."

"Well okay then. We got someone to help us with this, that's fine with me," Finn said.

A sound beeped out on the nearby console. Han moved over to look at it and said, "Well, we're here. I know someone who'll help get this droid home." He moved away from the console and into the cockpit, the rest of them following him.

"Here? Where's- oh," Rey said, noticing the planet. A green and blue planet. Huh.

"Water. Blue is water," Freohr said, "Green is plants."

"Really?"

"Yes. Not all planets tan and sand."

"I knew that."

Freohr looked at her doubtfully, but let it sit. They broke atmosphere and Han guided the ship to a beach near a castle. After landing, Rey rushed outside to stare at the landscape, Freohr trailing after her amusedly- as well as BB-8. They stood there in silence for a bit, before Freohr spoke up, "It beautiful."

She nodded absently, "Yeah, it is."

"It been time last saw green or blue," he said, High Galactic and Basic mixing.

"The sands of Jakku are harsh," She replied.

Just then, Han came up to them, holding a blaster. He lifted it up to Rey, "You might need this," He suggested.

"I can handle myself," She argued.

"I know, that's why I'm giving it to you." He held out the blaster to her, "Take it." she did, and held it out in front of herself, pointing at an invisible enemy. "Do you know how to work it?"

"Yeah, you point and pull the trigger."

"A little bit more to it than that," Han said, pulling her arm down. "You got a lot to learn."

Rey looked at the blaster; it was simple in design- not that she really knew how blasters were supposed to look- and had grey casing all around it. The handle was a black-brown color, as well as the tip of the blaster. It was more square than Freohr's blaster, but looked less fancy than his.

"You got a name?" Han asked after a bit. Rey looked at him, didn't he already know it? Or did he not pay attention?

"Rey," She answered.

"Rey," He repeated. "Well, Rey, I'm thinking about bringing on some more crew; a second mate, someone to help out, someone who could keep up with Chewie and me and appreciates the Falcon," He continued.

Rey got in front of him, "Are you offering me a job?" she asked, thinking about it.

"I wouldn't be nice to ya. Doesn't pay much."

"You're offering me a job," She confirmed.

"I'm thinking about it."

She thought it over, but Freohr's hand landed on her shoulder. She looked over at him, his brown eyes boring into her, "Take it. Han good man. Jakku may be home, but is it real home?"

"I-" she started.

"Think on it. Decide when we come back." he looked at Han and spoke to him for a bit in High Galactic.

Han finally nodded, "Okay, I agree. Think on it, Rey, you can decide when we come back." He looked back to where Chewbacca and Finn were just coming out of the ship, "Chewie, check on the ship as best you can." He turned back around and lowered Rey's pointed pistol, "Don't point that at anything- even when safety's on."

He moved past and they- Rey, Han, Finn, BB-8, and Freohr- made their way to the castle. "So what exactly are we doing here?" Finn asked.

"Finding a new ship; specifically one that's not tagged. If me and Chewie could pick it up on our scanners, the First Order's not going to be very far behind." He glanced back at the assembled group, "If we want to get BB-8 to the Resistance, Maz Kanata's our best hope."

The looked up at the various banners that adorned the top of the castle, as well as the statue of someone with their arms held out, holding up even more banners. Han gave off some more warnings before he reached the steps. The rest of the group glanced at each other- Freohr didn't, as he had his helmet on- warily, before following Han up the steps to the castle. Entering in, they were assaulted by various sounds and smells, each one varying degrees of good or bad.

Following the smuggler in, a voice called up beyond the rest, "Han Solo!"

Everybody and everything went quiet, Freohr reached for his blaster before Han called back, "Hey, Maz!"

As Maz made her way towards them, sound slowly returned to the cantina-castle. Maz, in all her short glory, marched up to Han and poked his chest, "Where's my boyfriend?" She asked without preamble.

Han pointed at the door, "He's working on the Falcon."

"I like that Wookie." She took a look at the rest of them, looking more intent on Freohr than the rest of them, before looking back at Han, "I assume you need something. Desperately." She waved her hand, "Let's get to it." and walked off.

They glanced at each other again, before following. They walked through the cantina before finding a fairly secluded spot to talk, before Han explained the situation, the rest of them throwing in something in from time to time. When they were done, Maz looked at them, "You're saying this droid," She motioned at BB-8, "Has a map to Luke Skywalker." She looked at Han and gave a brief chuckle, "You are _right _back in the mess."

"Maz," Han implored, "We need you to get this droid back to Leia."

Maz gave a considering look, "Hmm. No." Finn looked back at her from where he was looking around and Rey paused in her eating. Freohr stood still, bored. "You've been running away from this fight for too long, Han," Maz continued, then spoke a few words that Rey didn't understand, "Go home!"

"Leia doesn't want to see me," he argued, then went to the food.

"Please," Finn spoke up, "We came here for your help."

"What fight?" Rey asked, leaning closer.

"The only fight: against the Dark Side. Through the ages, I've seen evil take many forms: The Sith, the Empire; today, it's the First Order. Their shadow spreading across the galaxy. We must face them. Fight them. All of us."

Finn leaned forward, "There is no fight against the First Order," he begun, before Freohr whacked him. He looked up, "What was that for?" he demanded.

"There is always a fight against the Dark," Freohr spoke, taking off his helmet and setting it on the table. "I fought against it and won." As he said this, Rey saw his eyes turn a sickly yellow and light seemed to shy away from him. "I now control it the same as I do the Light." It faded away and the light seemed drawn to him. "How do you think the Sith were defeated? The Empire? Was it by people who were cowering away from a fight? Too scared to do anything?" He shook his head. "No, it was by people who stood up against the rule; people who were not afraid to get down and dirty to free the world. The Sith by the once-great Jedi, the Empire by Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance. And now, by us and the Resistance." He looked straight into Finn's eyes, "Now tell me, defector, do you have what it takes, or will you cower behind walls?" Freohr's eyes unfocused and he relaxed into a state of boredom again.

Maz chuckled as the rest of them processed his words, trying to figure out what he said in a mixture of Basic and High. "Oh, I didn't think you could talk! Now tell me, how did you come across Shadow Trooper armor? Hmm?"

"Found it in the wastes of Jakku. In the remains of Star Destroyers that weren't stripped by scavengers."

"Oh, interesting." She picked up the helmet, "You know this would fetch a pretty price-"

Freohr interrupted her, "Not for sale. As it happens, I rather like this armor."

"Ah, of course, can't blame me for trying."

Freohr smiled wanly at her, "At least it's getting use rather than sitting in some random rich person's mansion and collecting dust."

"Too true," She agreed.

"I choose to run," Finn said, finally figuring out his words, then standing up and moving.

"Finn!" Rey called, going after him.

"Well, isn't someone amused," Maz commented.

Freohr shook his head, "No matter how much I try to change, some things always stay the same."

"Oh? And that Party trick-" she stopped as Freohr's eyes grew sickly yellow and darkness coalesced around him.

"It was not party trick. I am evenly balanced in Dark and Light. I am Je'daii. The Jedi of old were old, stagnant bastards who grew too accustomed to peace, so that Anakin Skywalker was the force's answer to change. Then the Empire took over, then Luke Skywalker was the Force's answer to change. To be fair, they _did_ build a giant satellite that destroyed planets with one blast. _Then_ built a second one when the first one blew up." He tilted his head, "Do you think the Emperor was compensating for something? Probably was; he didn't look too good in his later years."

The two of them gave Freohr weird looks, which he just shrugged off and dispelled his control of the Dark Side. "To be fair, there comes a few adverse side effects when I'm maintaining a conscious control over the Dark. Pretty sure that was one of-" he cut off and unfocused his eyes, staring at something only he could see. "Hey, Maz, you might want to go check on something."

"What do you-" She stopped when she _heard_ something. "I'll go check," She said and moved off. Freohr followed. "What do you know about her?" She asked as they walked towards the basement.

"Scavenger. Abandoned at a young age at Jakku, she grew up scavenging parts in the old Star Destroyers. I probably've saw her a few times while I was exploring, but I was still getting used to my surroundings to care. Met her not too long ago and we escaped with Finn on the Millennium Falcon and subsequently got caught by Han. Finally made our way here, and now she wants to get back to Jakku. Dunno why, that place's a dump."

"We all form attachments to familiar surroundings when we're young; she probably just wants to go back to the only home she knew."

Freohr nodded silently. They descended the stairs in silence, and reached the bottom right as Rey fell back into the hallway. Maz rushed forward and started talking to Rey.

"I shouldn't've gone in there," Rey said as Maz approached; it was a bad idea, she thought to herself, things like that never were.

"That lightsaber was Luke's," Maz said, slightly out of breath, "And his father's before him, and now it calls to _you_."

"I have to get back to Jakku." Rey replied.

Maz sighed and took off her goggles, "The Je'daii told me," Maz said, taking Rey's hand. Rey kneeled so she was eye-level with Maz. "Dear child," Maz began, "I see your eyes, they already know the truth. Whoever you're waiting for on Jakku, they're never coming back." Rey knew this, but still shed a tear; it was one thing to subconsciously know it, it was another to hear it said bluntly. "But," Maz continued, gaining Rey's attention, "there's someone who still could."

Rey glanced back at Freohr, who had approached while they talked, who shook his head. It was not him. She realized something; it was the one person they were looking for, "Luke," she answered softly.

"The longing you seek is not behind you, it is ahead. I am no Jedi, or Je'daii, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing." Maz closed her shrunken eyes, "Close your eyes," She implored of Rey, "Feel it. The light; it's always been there. It will guide you."

"Rey," Freohr spoke up, "do it. Close your eyes," He repeated Maz's words, "it is there, at the edge." He spoke briefly to Maz in High Galactic, "at the edge of your mind," he finished. "Open yourself to it, and feel the Force rushing through you." he kneeled down to Rey, laying a gloved hand on her shoulder, "Like a light in the dark, it will guide you. Like a fire in the midst of cold, it will warm you. Embrace it. Know it. _Feel _it."

"I-I don't-" she began.

"You do not have to take the lightsaber; but know, the Force will always be there. It is an eternal companion."

"I have to go." She stood up and nearly ran out of the basement.

Freohr called out to her before she left, "Don't forget to turn off the safety!"

Rey didn't look back as she ran from the castle and into the woods. Maz looked at Freohr, who smiled wanly, "I'll take care of the saber until she's ready- go up to the rest of them, something's going to happen soon."

Maz searched his eyes before nodding and moving away. Sighing, Freohr stood up and moved into the storage area. He opened up the crate and looked at the lightsaber. "Oh, and he's going to finally become a true Jedi," voice spoke.

"Shut up, Kenobi, we all know that you don't need a lightsaber to become a Jedi."

"But it _is_ the signature weapon of a Jedi," another added.

"Yeah, well, how do you feel about me using your old one?" Freohr asked, looking back at the Force-ghost of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi, looking like they did in their Clone Wars days.

"I hope it serves you well," Anakin answered cheekily.

"As do I; I'm gonna need it." Freohr looked up, "Speaking of," he trailed off, an explosion shaking the building. Looking back down at the lightsaber, he grabbed it and moved out of the room, "Well, it's time for me to shine."

Telekinetically lifting BB-8 up the stairs, Freohr reached the main floor, where the patrons where running around wildly. Looking down at the droid, he said, "BB, stay with Han, with him you'll get plot armor and won't get destroyed; leave it up to me to get you unnoticed. But until then, stay with Han."

Summoning his helmet to him, he put it on and ran outside. "Look out, look out, guess who's gonna-" He jumped into the air as the TIE Fighters made another run, "cut you guy's in half!" he sliced down with the ignited lightsaber, cutting off a wing of a TIE, causing it to spiral out of control.

Rey ran through the forest, hearing the roaring of the TIEs and explosions. Hearing a nearby voice, she turned and saw a Stormtrooper, pulling out the blaster pistol Han gave to her, she remembered Freohr's seemingly random words and turned off the safety before firing at the trooper. He fell to the ground, not knowing what hit him. She looked at it in awe before turning towards the slowly crumbling ruins of Maz's castle- despite Freohr's efforts to counter it- and fired at another Trooper, also killing them.

The trooper next to them turned when he saw his partner crumble and saw Rey fire at him, but miss. He fired a few shots- missing as well- before he commed to his squad leader that he was pursuing someone, giving details as he chased her. His leader relayed it to Kylo Ren, and Ren commanded that the rest of his squad- and another squad- to accompany him to capture the girl.

Rey shot the trooper that was following her, then crouched to take cover behind some rocks. She quickly moved on, hearing distant sounds of fighting. Crouching close to a tree, she heard the sound of something igniting- similar to what she heard in the vision. She looked around for the source, seeing nothing but trees and rocks. Moving back, she hid in the little crevice of rock, keeping a look out. She heard the waving sound of something and a black figure with a red lightsaber- similar to the one in her vision- appeared. She fired off several shots, each one deflected by the saber.

She fired several more shots at the slowly approaching figure before scrambling up out of the crevice. She fired more shots at the black robed person, the ones that neared hitting him being deflected, before they held out their hand, making her freeze with her blaster pistol pointed downwards. She tried struggling, to no avail. The person slowly approached, then stopped, saying, "The girl I heard so much about." Their voice heavily modulated behind their mask.

They slowly approached, their saber humming ominously in the background, before they circled around her. "The droid," They said again, and the lightsaber rose up to her face, "where is it?"

"I don't know," She answered honestly- last time she saw BB-8 was when he was with Freohr.

They circled back around and held his hand to her face, "The map- you've seen it," they spoke. She tried resisting, but failed.

A voice intruded, "Sir! Resistance fighters! We need more troops."

"Pull the division out. Forget the droid- we have what we need," the person answered, before Rey's world went dark.

"Well, isn't this a spunky little meeting!" Freohr called out as he directed the TIE he had taken over to fire at some of the others.

Over the communications on the TIE, Poe Dameron's voice answered, "If this is what you call 'spunky' I don't want to know what you call 'fun'!"

"Eh, fun's a bit more complicated." he tapped a few more controls on the TIE, "Alright, ejecting now, I'm done here." he jumped out as the TIE Fighter crashed into some retreating Stormtroopers. He rolled with the landing and jumped over rubble and landed on the other side of the troops that were escorting Kylo Ren and Rey. Igniting the lightsaber, he called, "I'm looking forward to a match, Ren! There's a few things I've been wanting to test out!"

Kylo Ren glanced back at the figure that was in a three-point landing pose, with a blue lightsaber extended out behind him. "I doubt it will be a challenge," he answered, before entering the ship fully, Rey still in his arms.

Freohr grappled two of the Stormtroopers with the Force before they could enter, then ragdolled them towards the rising ship, making them thump against the hull. He stood there for a bit, before he started laughing. Once he finished, he ignored Finn's rant about how he let Rey get captured- he didn't really understand most of the words Finn used, anyway, and instead started scavenging the bodies off the dead Stormtroopers.

As he searched through the bodies, he found several energy packs for standard-issue F-11Ds and a few for his own blaster pistol, and a few riot shields that some of the Stormtroopers used. Searching some more, he found the body of TR8R and the weapon he used, commenting, "Ooh, I'm keeping this." and grabbed the holster for it, strapping it to his leg armor and holstering it.

Looking up as he heard the sound of an approaching ship, he joined up with Finn, Han, and Chewie as the watched it land. The doors opened up and a contingent of Resistance soldiers rushed out, followed by a golden droid with a red arm and an old woman- Leia Solo (Organa, if you wanted to be technical.)

As soon as C-3P0 saw Han, he started chatting wildly, only to be pushed away. Freohr leaned over to the empty air next to him and whispered, "Did you program him to be so chatty?"

"I was very lonely as a child," Anakin's voice answered back, "Despite the friends I made then."

Freohr grabbed 3P0 with the Force and dragged him over, letting Han and Leia have their moment. "Oh! Who are you?" 3P0 asked Freohr, seeing the Shadow Trooper armor on him.

"Freohr," he answered back.

The droid was about to say something, but then Leia called over to them, "And who are you two?"

"I am Freohr, Madame Leia. A freelance scavenger from Jakku."

Finn glanced at Freohr, "F-Finn," he introduced himself.

She nodded, then beckoned them aboard the ship. The rest of the Resistance troops arrived back and they took off once the doors closed. Freohr felt the shuddering of the ship as it launched into hyperspace.

* * *

**Decided I should update another story. So you got this. Bye now.**

**Rees in broken Basic about typos and errors**


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